(HorizonPost.com) – A recent survey found that a majority of priests in the Church of England support having the church perform gay weddings and believe that church teachings on moral issues should be in line with public opinion.
According to a UK Times survey of 1,200 Anglican priests, 53.4 percent support allowing gay couples to be married in the church while only 36.5 percent oppose it.
Currently, the Church of England does not officiate gay weddings, only permitting Anglican clergy to bless gay couples.
A vast majority of Anglican priests, 62.6 percent, think the Church of England should change its teachings on premarital sex. While only 21.6 percent want the church to ease up on any premarital shenanigans, 41 percent say church teaching should change to accept premarital sex only among those in “committed relationships.” Only 34.6 percent of Anglican priests want church teaching on the matter to stay the same.
When asked if the Church of England should end its opposition to homosexual relationships, the vast majority, 64.5 percent, said yes, with 27.3 percent saying gays should be allowed to have as many partners as they want and 37.2 saying it should be limited to committed relationships like those of civil partners or within gay marriage. Only 29.7 percent of Anglican priests want the church’s position on homosexuality to remain unchanged.
In 1998, Anglican bishops passed a resolution declaring that homosexuality is “incompatible with Scripture.” The Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, George Carey, said he stood with Anglican orthodoxy “wholeheartedly” and saw “no room” in the Christian tradition or the Scripture that allows for any sexual activity outside of marriage.
Bishops from the Church of England will be meeting this fall to discuss formally permitting homosexual priests to get married. In the Times survey, 63.3 percent of Anglican priests support this position.
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